


Merle

by LaEnchanteRose



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Angst, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Finding/rediscovering oneself, Hurt/Comfort, Lumiere and Plumette sweetness, Lumiere looking out for his lady, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Harm, Very Minor, although that should really go without saying!, like he is so very good at doing!, no blood or gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 21:46:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17609603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaEnchanteRose/pseuds/LaEnchanteRose
Summary: After the curse, Plumette must learn to fly again.





	Merle

Yesterday, I could fly. Today, I cannot even walk.

The wings that I was cursed with allowed me to soar. The legs that I was born with will not support me.

It is clearer than crystal- I will never fly again.

He looks at me, crumpled in a pathetic heap on the floor. Mon chéri, mon coeur, with blue eyes filled with love and concern.

“You WILL fly again, ma jolie merle, you WILL!” he tells me.

What a joke! The curse is broken, we have our bodies back- but I am still not free. I am not whole.

I look at my feet with scorn. Useless, utterly useless! I swat at them with fury. They must be punished, they MUST-

“Stop! Do not hurt yourself!” He is firm as he takes my hands in his and removes them from their target.

“But they do not work! They have betrayed me, they are RUBBISH!” I cannot stop the tears that slide down my cheeks, nor do I particularly want to.

He shakes his head vehemently. “Non! They are beautiful, YOU are beautiful!”

 He pauses to kiss each of my pieds tenderly.

“It is not at that end that the problem lies. It is up here,” he touches his finger to my head.

“In my head?!” I am confused.

“Oui. Your feet cannot walk, your body cannot soar, if your mind will not let them,” he explains.

My MIND is trapping me? That is the most foolish thing I have ever heard! Can he not see that I WANT to be free, that I would RUN if only my legs would cooperate?!

It is not that simple, he insists. “It is not enough to simply want it. You must BELIEVE you can do it, you must believe in yourself! Only then will you cease to fall,” he looks so intently into my eyes that it as if he is peering into my very soul, seeing something that he knows is there, even if I have forgotten it.

I ponder his words for a moment. And I realize that he is right.

I close my eyes and remember what it felt like to fly, to have confidence in myself.

Almost without realizing it, I begin to rise. And I do not fall.

I close my eyes again and picture myself as I was before the curse: strong, courageous. I cannot recall when I lost that woman, but it is clear to me now that I did. And I realize how much I have missed her.

Tentatively I move my foot forward. And I take my first steps in over a decade.

I giggle with delight. “I’m walking! I’m walking!” Tears stream down my cheeks again, but this time they are tears of joy.

‘I knew you could! I knew you had it in you, ma merle, ma trésor!” He kisses me passionately, his arms twining round me in a loving embrace.

We bask in the glow for several moments. Then he takes my hands in his once more and leads me in a waltz.

We glide across the floor, lost in each other. At last I am flying again.

**Author's Note:**

> You probably didn't think I would ever post in this fandom again, eh?! To be perfectly honest, I didn't either (and I still don't have any plans to continue any of my other fics at the moment. Sorry, but I just haven't been motivated!). But then I got inspired to write this (just HOW that happened is a long story and I don't really feel like this is the time or place to be going into that. I WILL say, lest you worry, that I'm fine and it's nothing that affected me directly!).
> 
> Anyway, I am not in any way, shape, or form trying to imply that Plumette wasn't strong or courageous during the curse. Of course she was! But something like that HAS to do a number on your psyche!
> 
> "Merle" is French for "blackbird". I assure you I am in no way trying to be racist. It's meant as a term of endearment- Lumiere is essentially saying that he loves every part of Plumette, including her skin. But if you DO find it offensive, please let me know. The last thing I want to do is make anyone uncomfortable, and I'm more than willing to change things!


End file.
